Centralized traffic controlling system



R. M. PHINNEY CENTRALIZED TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Filed March 31, 1932 .NQQU

VQRKNEQU June 4, 1935.

Patented June 4, 1935 PATENT OFFICE CENTRALIZED TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM Robert M. Phinney, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to General Railway Signal Company, Rochester, N. Y.

Application March 31, 1932, Serial No. 602,231

1 Claim.

This invention relates to railway centralized trailic controlling systems and more particularly to a means for selectively sectionalizing the line circuit at various locations in such a system.

In'certain' selective types of railway centralized-traffic controlling systems, a line circuit is employed consisting of two, three or four wires, as required, and'extending through the various field stations of a system and normally connected together beyond the last of these field stations. A'system of this type employs relays at each of these field stations in series with these circuits and it is obvious that the complete system is thrown out of operation by any trouble in the line circuit such as a broken wire. In

many'of such systems, a telephone line, such as used by the railroad train dispatchers, also extends throughout the section controlled by the centralized traiiic controlling system and consequently may be available as a means for sectionalizing theseries line circuit when in trouble providing the telephone line is intact.

In view of the above andother considerations, it is proposed in accordance with this invention -'to-providea means for selectively sectionalizing the line circuit of a selective centralized trafllc controllingsystem at any one of several points to render that section of the system from the selected point to the control oifice operable. It is further proposed to provide in this sectionalizing means a restoring means for again returning the series line circuit to its normal position aftersuch line trouble has been corrected, and to also provide a local manual means for operating the sectionalizing and restoring means at these various points.

Other objects, purposes and characteristic features of the invention will appear as thedescription thereof progresses, during which reference will be made to the accompanying single sheet of drawing which diagrammatically shows a centralized trafiic controlling system layout in connection with a sectionalizing means as proposed in accordance with the present invention and has been shown in a manner to make it easily understood rather than with the view of showing the particular arrangement preferably employed in practice.

In the accompanying drawing, a line circuit as employed in a centralized traffic controlling system, which may be of the type disclosed in the prior application of N. D. Preston et al., Ser. No. 455,304, filed May 24, 1930, is shown arranged to be sectionalized according to the present system. A system of this type is employed to send controls to a plurality of field stations of which two are diagrammaticaly indicated by the dotted rectangles FS and F8 A control oflice is indicated at one end of the system by the dotted rectangle CO with the line wires S, 5 M and Com extending through responsive apparatus at each field station in series and connected together at the end of the system. It may be considered in this diagram that field stations FS and F5 are the two stations located nearest the control office and that several other field stations are located between these points and the end of the line circuit.

A telephone line is indicated by the wires T and across these line wires a telephone selector, 15 such as indicated by the dotted rectangles S S etc., is connected at each field station except the last at which it is obvious that a sectionalizing means is not required. A telephone code transmitter indicated by the dotted rectangle CT is also connected to these wires at the control ofiice, and is operable to transmit a plurality of different codes, each one of whichis effective to select a particular selector at a field station. These selectors and the code transmitter may be of the conventional type employed in telephone practice or such as disclosed in the patent to J. C. Field, No. 1,354,814, granted October 5, 1920.

A contact I on the telephone selector is arranged to control the sectionalizing means, and this may be such as the one arranged to control the energization of the bell operating coils of the selector shownl'n Fig. 6 of the above-mentioned Field patent. Two relays A and C which can be considered, respectively, as initiating, and restoring relays, and which may be of the telephone type, are positioned by this contact I of the selector to effect the control of a relay B which can be considered a sectionalizing or cut-out re-- lay, and which has contacts arranged to complete the centralized traffic controlling system Wires S M and Com when this relay B is deenergized and are operable to connect these line wires together by the energization of the relay B as will be later described.

Now considering that trouble has occurred between field station FS and field station F3 such as a broken Wire, the operator, desiring to control apparatus at field station F3 operates the telephone code transmitter at the control office to select the telephone selector S This closes con tact I momentarily and energizes relay A from a terminal of an energy source (-1-), contact I, wire 2, back contact 3 of relay B, wire 4, through the winding of relay A, to an opposite terminal 55 of the energy source Relay A then picks up closing its front contact 5, but relay B does not then pick up until the telephone selector S has broken the circuit at its contact I, inasmuch as it is obvious that the same potential of energy is placed on each side of the operating winding thereby preventing current from flowing in its coils. 1

However, as soon as the selector S opens the contact I, relay 3 is energized in series with relay A from through back contact 6 of relay C, wire 1, front contact of relay A, wire 8, through the windings of relay B, Wires 9 and 4, through the winding of relay A, to These relays A and B then remain energized through this circuit as long as relay C remains deenergized.

The line wires S and M are now connected together and to the common wire Com through suitable impedances 1S and 1M by the picking up of contacts H and I2 of relay B. These impedances 1S and 1M are to compensate for the impedance of the line circuit which is thereby cutout and obviously will be of various values at the field stations depending upon their locationrelative to the control omce. A contact i3 of. relay B is provided in the common wire Com which, when picked up, opens the common circuit from the control oflice to the system beyond ,the sectionalizing relay B andconnects the common wire of this circuit which is cut oil to ground for testing and/or prctectionpurposes.

The centralized traffic controlling system may now be operated to control apparatus at the field station FS inasmuch as the series circuits are "now completed so far as that station. When a broken line wire beyond this point or such trouble in the circuit as may have occurred has been corrected, the operator at the control oifice may drop the relay B to again restore the operation oi V the complete system by again operating the code controller to select the telephone selector S The operation of this selector S 'for the second time, or with the relays A and B energized, then functions to pick up the relay C from contact "I, wire 2, front contact 3 of relay B, wires I5 and i6 ,'windings of the relay C, to This opens the back contact 5 of relay C which interrupts the energizing circuit of relays A and B thereby effecting the restoring of the wires S, M and Com to their normal condition or including all apparatus to the end of the circuit.

A stick circuit for the relay C is provided by a front contact I? which shunts around the front contact 3 of relay B thus maintaining the relay C energized after the dropping of relay B and until the circuit is broken by the opening of the selector contact I. This contact ii is necessary in the circuit, otherwise relay C might drop before contact I of the selector opened thereby again enabling the relays A and B to become energized and remain energized after contact I of the selector opened.

It may be found expedient to provide an auxmal condition. It is to be understood that this push button is not essential to the system but its incorporation may be found convenient, inasmuch as it enables a maintainer, when discovering trouble or when repairing the line, to conveniently sectionalize the line circuit at that point without communicating with the operator at the control office.

A similar arrangement of'relays and circuits is shown with distinctive exponents associated with the field station F3 and it is understood that each field station of the System except the last may be provided with such an arrangement. A sectionalizing system for railway centralized trainc controlling systems has thus been provided which enables an operator at the central control point or control ofiice to sectionalize the line circuit at any one of various points in the system where it is found desirable because of the existence of an abnormal condition and such a sectionalizing system has also been provided which Having thus described my invention, what I.

claim is:-- r

In a control system; a relay bank including a first relay, a second relay and a third relay; a control contact; a pick-up circuit for said first relay including said control contact and a back contact of said second relay; a stick circuit for said first relay including the winding of said second relay, a front contact of said first relay and a back contact of said third relay; means including the pick-up circuit for said first relay for shunting the winding of said second relay; a pick-up circuit for said third relay including said control contact and a front contact of said second relay; and a stick circuit for said third relay including said control contact'and a front contact of said third relay, said stick circuit for said first relay energizing said second relay only when said first relay is energized and said third relay is deenergized. ROBERT M- PHINNEY. 

